Kit, apparatus and method for removably attaching patches to garments

ABSTRACT

An apparatus, method and kit is presented for removably and replaceably attaching patches to garments. The kit has a plurality of cloth patches, a plurality of pins having a back with a shaft extending outwardly from one side, a plurality of ornamental caps having a shaft receiving member, and a plurality of patterns for cutting out shapes from the patches.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to patches for clothing. More specifically, and without limitation, this invention relates to interchangeable patches for clothing.

Patches are well known in the art. Historically, patches were born out of necessity wherein when a user's clothing became ripped, torn or worn-out, a patch would be sewn into place either over or under the hole or wear-spot to mend the garment thereby extending its useful life. In modern times, as the manufacturing and availability of clothing improved, patches became more of a fashion-statement than a utilitarian device as most garments were no longer worn until they developed holes or wear-spots. Instead, patches were stitched into perfectly good clothing to improve its aesthetic appearance or to add character by providing a broken-in or used look. Although the method of stitching patches into clothing achieved the desired aesthetic appearance it was time consuming and difficult and required some sewing skills, materials and knowledge. Also, patches that are stitched into clothing are difficult and time consuming to remove and replace should the user desire a different aesthetic appearance.

Therefore, a need exists in the art for an apparatus and method for quickly and easily adding and removing ornamental patches to clothing without the need for sewing skills, materials and knowledge.

Thus an object of the present invention is to provide a method to quickly and easily add and remove ornamental patches to clothing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus to quickly and easily add and remove ornamental patches to clothing.

These and other objects, features, or advantages will become apparent from the specification and claims.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An apparatus, method and kit is presented for removably and replaceably attaching patches to garments. The kit has a plurality of cloth patches, a plurality of pins having a back with a shaft extending outwardly from one side, a plurality of ornamental caps having a shaft receiving member, and a plurality of patterns for cutting out shapes from the patches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a pin passing through a garment and a patch with a cap;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a patch attached to a garment; and

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a kit containing a plurality of pins, caps, patches, patterns, sand paper and a scissors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the figures, a pin 10 has a back 12 with a shaft 14 extending outwardly from the back 12. In a preferred embodiment, the back 12 is round in shape when viewed from above with the shaft 14 being centrally located on the back 12. Alternatively, back 12 is any geometric shape when viewed from above such as square, rectangular, octagonal, oval or the like. The shaft-side of back 12 is flat and smooth so as to be non-irritating to a garment 15 or patch 30. Alternatively, the shaft-side of back 12 has a roughened or non-slip surface or a gripping material or device such as Velcro, rubber, sandpaper, prongs or the like to help maintain the position of the pin 10 on garment 15 or patch 30. The non-shaft-side of back 12 also is flat and smooth so as to be non-irritating should it come into contact with a user's skin or other garments. Alternatively, the non-shaft-side of back 12 is covered with a non-irritating material 13 such as felt, cloth, rubber, plastic, Teflon, or the like which is attached or molded thereto. Shaft 14 has a non-threaded portion 16 which transitions into a threaded portion 18 before terminating at pointed end 20. Pin 10 is made of any material such as plastic, composite, metal, alloy or the like.

Cap 22 has a back side 24 and a front side 26. Back side 24 of cap 22 has a flat and smooth surface so as to be non-irritating to garment 15. Alternatively, back side 24 of cap 22 has a roughened or non-slip surface or a gripping material or device such as Velcro, rubber, sandpaper, prongs or the like to help maintain the position of the pin 10 on a garment. Positioned on back side 24 of cap 22 is pin receiving member 28 which is designed to receive and frictionally engage shaft 14 of pin 10. In a preferred embodiment, pin receiving member 28 is a cylindrical tube centrally positioned within cap 22 having internal threads 29 which matingly correspond to the threads on threaded portion 18 of shaft 12. Alternatively, pin receiving member 28 is non-threaded.

Cap 22 is flat in shape or alternatively has any three dimensional shape or design such as a star, pyramid, shield, grenade, jewel, logo, or any other aesthetically pleasing shape or design. When viewed from front side 26 cap 22 has any desired geometric shape such as square, rectangle, triangle, star, round, oval, or any other geometric shape. Alternatively, front side 26 of cap 22 has a design or logo located thereon. Cap 22 is made of any material such as plastic, composite, metal, alloy or the like. Cap 22 is any color, or has a metallic appearance such as gold, silver, brass or the like, or alternatively has the appearance of a jewel such as a diamond.

Patch 30 is preferably a single sheet of cloth material such as denim, flannel, canvas, cotton, felt, corduroy or any other like material having any color, texture or pattern. Alternatively, patch 30 is made of any other material such as rubber, plastic, Kevlar or the like. Patch 30 has any specific geometric shape such as square, rectangular, round, oval, star, or the like. Alternatively, patch 30 has a random shape such as a worn and tattered piece of cloth. The front side 32 of patch 30 is blank or does not have any pattern, design or drawings on it other than those in the patch material itself. Alternatively, patch 30 has an ornamental design, logo or drawing on it such as a team name, band name, brand name, a picture, a popular design or any other ornamental design or drawing. Patch 30 has the appearance of a new piece of material or alternatively has the appearance of an aged or worn piece of material. In one embodiment, the back side of patch 30 has an adhesive material positioned thereon such as glue, heat sensitive glue, double sided tape, or the like to help maintain its position on garment 15.

Pattern 34 is preferably a cutout of a specific shape or design. Preferably, pattern 34 is made of paper, cardboard, wood, hard or malleable plastic or any other material which is rigid and durable for repetitive use. Pattern 34 has any desired geometric shape such as square, rectangle, triangle, star, round, oval, or any other geometric shape or design which is traced onto patch 30 or the garment 15 so as to provide an outline for cutting. Alternatively, pattern 30 provides designs to trace onto patch 30 or the garment 15 to improve the ornate appearance of patch 30.

In a preferred embodiment, an assortment or plurality of various pins 10, caps 22, patches 30 and patterns 34 are placed in a kit or box 36 with one another. Additionally, other accessories are added to kit such as a scissors 38, sand paper 40 and drawing or drawing implement 42 such as pens or markers or the like.

In operation, a user desiring to ordain a garment 15 with a non-permanent patch 30, selects a desired patch 30 from kit 36. The user determines whether to use patch 30 in the shape it is in or whether to modify the shape of the patch 30 or garment 15. If the user desires to change the shape of patch 30 or garment 15, the user selects a pattern 34 from kit 36 and traces the pattern onto patch 30 or garment 15. The user then uses scissors 38 to cut patch 30 into the desired shape or cut a hole in garment 15 in the appropriate shape or design such that patch 30 is viewable through the hole cut into garment 15. Once patch 30 or garment 15 is in the desired shape, the user determines whether to modify the ornate appearance of patch 30. If the user desires to modify the appearance of patch 30 the user selects a pattern 34 to draw or trace designs onto patch 30. Alternatively, the user selects sandpaper 40 from kit 36 and uses the sandpaper 40 to abrade garment 15, or the edges of the cut in garment 15 to make patch 30, garment 15 or the hole in garment 15 appear aged, tattered or worn.

Once patch 30 has the desired shape and appearance, the user places patch 30 adjacent garment 15 either on top of garment 15 or underneath garment 15. If patch 30 is placed underneath garment 15, only the portion of patch 30 that can be seen through a hole, tear or opening of garment 15 will be visible. Alternatively, if patch 30 is paced on top of garment 15, the entire patch 30 will be visible. Once in place the user then selects the desired cap 22 from kit 36 as well as a pin 10. Once selected, the user forces shaft 14 of pin 10 through the garment and patch 30. The user then forces cap 22 over shaft 14 in the direction of arrow 44 such that shaft 14 is matingly and frictionally received within pin receiving member 28, alternatively the user rotates 22 upon the threads of shaft 14. When pin 12 and cap 22 are lockingly engaged tension is provided between the non-shaft side of back 12 of pin 10 and the back side 24 of cap 22 thereby mechanically and frictionally engaging patch 30 with garment 15. The user repeats this process placing several pins 10 and caps 22 around the periphery of patch 30 or the hole, tear or opening of garment 15 until the user is satisfied that a sufficient number have been used to maintain patch 30 on the garment 15.

Once the user wants to remove patch 30 from the garment the user removes each cap 22 from each pin 10 either by pulling or rotating cap 22 off of shaft 14. Should the user desire to add a different patch 30 to the garment, the user repeats this process.

From the above discussion it will be appreciated that this kit, apparatus and method of producing interchangeable patches provides many advantages over the prior art and at the very least meets the stated objectives.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other various modifications could be made to the device, method or kit without parting from the spirit and scope of this invention. All such modifications and changes fall within the scope of the claims and are intended to be covered thereby. 

1. An apparatus for removably attaching patches to garments comprising: a pin having a back with a shaft extending outwardly from one side of the back; the shaft having a threaded portion and a non-threaded portion which terminates in a point; a cap having a shaft receiving member; wherein the shaft receiving member of the cap threadably receives the shaft of the pin.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the non-shaft side of the pin is smooth.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the non-shaft side of the pin is smooth covered in a cloth material.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising wherein the shaft is centrally located on the back.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the cap has an ornamental design.
 6. A kit for adding patches to garments comprising a plurality of cloth patches; a plurality of pins having a back with a shaft extending outwardly from one side; a plurality of caps having a shaft receiving member; and a plurality of patterns.
 7. The kit of claim 6 wherein the plurality of patches are of various materials.
 8. The kit of claim 6 wherein the plurality of patches are of various colors
 9. The kit of claim 6 wherein the plurality of caps are of various ornamental designs.
 10. The kit of claim 6 further comprising a scissors.
 11. The kit of claim 6 further comprising a plurality of marking devices.
 12. A method of removably and replaceably attaching a patch to a garment comprising the steps of: selecting a patch; placing a patch on a garment; inserting a pin having a back and a shaft extending outwardly from one side of the back through the garment and the patch; selecting an ornamental cap having a shaft receiving member; and inserting the shaft into the shaft receiving member.
 13. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of: removing the cap from the shaft. 